"We actually have that money and we think we can raise the rest of it," said Lake County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox.
The county has been given first right of refusal on about 1,500 acres of a property valued at an estimated $3.8 million. But a part of the mountain property package may no longer be for sale.
"They're hesitant," Lake County Supervisor Anthony Farrington said of the Fowler family, which owns the land.
At issue is Buckingham Peak, Mount Konocti's highest point and the site of several communications towers.
The family initially had offered to sell the 9-acre parcel that houses the towers along with about 1,500 acres along the top of multi-peaked Mount Konocti.
The 1,500 acres remain on the table, but the family has since become reluctant to sell the communications tower property, Farrington said.
The family's attorney, Peter Windrem, declined to comment.
The 1,500-acre section has an estimated value of $2.6 million. If purchased by the county, it would become a public recreation area.
The communications site is valued at about $1.2 million.
Farrington said the county needs that parcel because it generates tower-leasing revenue of about $75,000 a year, money that could be used to maintain the rest of the land for public recreation.
He said he's confident that both parties will find common ground.
There is widespread support for purchasing the upper reaches of Mount Konocti for public use.
"I can't remember any project where there's been so much support," Cox said.
It would add miles of public hiking trails and enhance the county's eco-tourism draw, officials said.
"The views are absolutely breathtaking," Farrington said.
The county has two years to buy the land before it is offered on the open market.
It will be working with state and federal agencies and trusts to find the rest of the funding for the land purchase.
You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@ pressdemocrat.com.
